So she held men back. Royal was the one who kept at it. But he was close to giving up and that made Beth sad. He was a good man who loved her sister. But the scars your life gives you sometimes run so deep you can’t ever heal over.

In the end, she just wasn’t sure Royal had whatever it took to get past Anne’s defenses. Or if anyone did.

Anne sighed. “I don’t want to get married. If he’d just date me, we’d be fine. But he insists on marriage and I keep telling him I’m not interested.”

Beth neatly stepped in and changed the subject. “So, Tate, what do you think? Boy or girl this time?”

The sisters looked over, laughing and whispering. Matt Chase raised a brow and looked to Joe. “They’re talking about you.”

Joe felt the heat of a blush. “What makes you say that?”

“He’s not a moron.” William sat back and sipped his soda.

“Don’t look so panicked. They do it about us all.” Matt tipped his glass. “Thank God for it. Look at ’em.”

The group took the women in. Marc Chase, Matt’s little brother, laughed. “Damn, such a pretty bunch of females. Each is wily though, Joe. That’s the thing. Beauty, no doubt. But they’re all smart and independent.”

“They work in a pack.” That was Shane, the sheriff and oldest Chase brother.

That made Joe laugh. “A pack?”

“Wolves are really smart. And vicious as hell if you mess with them and theirs.”

“I like Beth. Beth likes me. That’s really it.” He shrugged. “I’ve known you Murphys for my entire life. She’s a friend first and foremost.”

It was Marc who seemed to find that the funniest. “Yeah. Liv and I were friends too. Now she’s given me two babies and makes me mow the lawn.”

Yeah well hopefully she wouldn’t have to call their children to come over to talk him down from a rage where he’d threatened to burn the house down with their mother in it. That had been a great capper to a night where he thought he’d be getting in between Beth’s thighs.

He’d dropped Beth off and raced to his parents’ house to find his mother huddling in the car, weeping, while his father paced around the house, ranting and making threats.

There was a dark knot of rage in his father’s belly and it seemed to be growing. Joe had no idea what to do about it. He wanted to call the cops, hoping that the shock would push his father to get help. But his mother had only gotten more upset. Joe had brought her to his apartment to spend the night, but she’d gone home soon after she’d gotten up and kept insisting things were fine.

He shouldn’t have come here. But Beth had been so pretty when she asked. So sweet. And the allure of normal time with friends was too much to turn down. It had been good, he realized. He’d needed it. But he knew it wasn’t a good idea to get used to it.

But it was hard to keep to that when she’d sat with him while they watched the movie. One of the kids snuggled up in her lap with Buck, who everyone had insisted he bring over, who’d laid his head on her thigh. She spent a lot of her time laughing and joking.

He noticed she filled that spot in her family. She made it look effortless, the way she cheered up crying children. He’d watched her steer the conversation around potential arguments between her siblings, even as she’d defended them, and in a few cases, delivered a little discipline.

And there they sat in his truck, in his driveway because Buck was with them. He should have dropped her off first, then he’d have a way to just kiss her and move on. He knew once they had sex things would deepen between them. How could they not? He should avoid it.

He gave himself this lecture as she chatted with Buck, who’d managed to claim her lap. Whatever it was, Buck thought it was awesome because he gave her his best dog grin and licked her here and there to underline it.

Joe didn’t blame Buck. He wanted to lick her too.

He got out and went around, and she handed him the dog first, before he helped her out.

“He’s spoiled enough as it is.”

She laughed. “The kids were in heaven with him tonight. I’m so glad you came along, Buck. You made lots of happy giggly children.”

Buck danced to the front door after he stopped to sniff around the steps and the flowerboxes. He snorted, peed on a few places and barreled into the house when Joe opened the door.

“So, Joe Harris, are you going to make this girl all giggly?”

He backed her up against the wall, pressing himself into her body. “I think so, yeah.” He kissed her slow, tasting her, settling in. “Though your mouth might be too busy to giggle.”

“You say the hottest stuff.”

Her hands made their way under the hem of his shirt, stroking up his back, nails scoring lightly, sending shivers through him.

“I really want to see those tattoos.”

He picked her up and headed back to his bedroom. Once he’d tossed her to his bed, he pulled his shirt up and over his head, reveling in the way she looked him over.

“Good God,” she breathed out. “I might come just from looking at you.”

“Don’t leave without me.” He pulled her pretty sandals off, digging his thumbs in, kneading until she made a sound that shot straight to his cock.

The hem of the skirt she wore slid up, exposing a whole lot of tanned thigh. He knelt on the bed, sliding his palms up from her ankles, up her calves, pausing to dig his thumbs in just behind her knee. Her lips parted on a soft sigh as she watched him.